Alathia
by Kathryn0505
Summary: Although he would have given anything to bring her home safe, it’s a huge surprise to him when they find her.


A/N: Okay I've felt like writing a lot lately, but that's probably just due to me trying to avoid the ton of homework I have and the exams I should be studying for. Anyway, I just got the first three seasons of SGA on DVD and have been watching them nonstop. It is most unfortunate, to say the absolute least, that Elizabeth has been killed off, and rewatching old episodes has only made me miss her character more. Therefore, I am writing a happy(ish) fic. Normally I'm all for the doom-and-gloom angst, but not today. Please review, or I cannot improve. Sorry for the long A/N. Enjoy.

Oh and pretend This Mortal Coil and Be All My Sins Remember'd never happened.

SGA

John knows that he vowed to find her. It was his promise to himself and to her; he'd never give up hope of finding Elizabeth and he'd never stop trying, no matter what. He knows he promised himself this, but he doesn't think he ever really believed it. The hope and vow were comforts to him, as though by speaking the words aloud to himself it would keep her alive. He couldn't afford to think otherwise.

So although he would have given anything to bring her home safe, it's a huge surprise to him when they find her.

They weren't even looking for her. They stumbled onto a world known as Alathia, a very modest village that would be willing to trade for food. Teyla is speaking with the leader of the village, Kora, when John spots her.

At first, he thinks he's seeing things. Wishful thinking, and all that. But he looks again. She looks thinner and her hair is a bit longer than when he saw her several months before. She is wearing one of the long dresses that seem to be popular in the village, and she's busy doing some of the chores of the village.

"Kora, who is that?" John interrupts. Teyla abruptly stops speaking and looks to him with a questioning gaze. He knows it's her, but it's as though he can't quite believe it.

Kora follows his gaze to the person in question. "Oh, that's Elizabeth," she replies, with obvious disdain in her voice. "She's one of the lower class, pay her no mind." She looks as though she is about to keep speaking to Teyla, but when she looks back to the team, they have already taken off in Elizabeth's direction.

They yell her name and run over. Elizabeth suddenly stops what she's doing and stares at them. John knows they must look like crazy people yelling and waving as they scramble to get to her, but he couldn't care less.

It seems like forever before they are in front of her. Uncharacteristically, Rodney is the first to run over and hug her. She looks frozen to the spot, not knowing what to do.

"Are you okay? What happened? How did you get here?" The questions come in a flood and she doesn't know which to answer first. She still stares at them, unsure if this is really happening.

But then it's like a switch flips and she's crying, sobbing really, and she hugs Rodney back, and she whispers "You're here, you guys are here" over and over as though she's trying to make sure that she understands what's really going on.

Rodney lets her go and she runs over to John and he runs equally frantically to get to her. She's still sobbing and he's holding her tightly. He presses a kiss to her forehead and slightly rocks her. She calms down eventually, but there are so many questions lingering in the air that no one quite knows where to begin.

John's happy and concerned when he notices that when she pulled away she didn't let go of his hand. She's still leaning into him, slightly behind him really, as though she is hiding like a child.

"Why are you guys here?" she manages to get out.

"We came to trade with the people of this village," Teyla says. "They have always been fair traders to my people, and we came to trade for a portion of their crops. Elizabeth, how did you get here?"

But she's not answering, and merely shakes her head. John becomes even more concerned when she presses a little more into him and moves a little farther behind him when she sees a man walking toward them.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth! Get over here now!" The man bellows. The man marches right over to them and completely ignores the rest of the team.

"Get away from me, Chramie!" she yells. This only makes the man slap her across the face, but she continues to glare at him, and John feels a twinge of pride when she doesn't back down.

He goes to grab her, but she jumps away and the team raises their weapons to protect her.

"Who are you?" John asks.

"I'm her keeper," he replies, as if that explains everything. "Now hand her over!" He has an angry face and cold eyes. It makes John sick to think that he's her 'keeper' even though he's not entirely sure what a keeper is. It can't be a good thing.

"Ummm, keeper?" Rodney ventures. "What is that? You see we, uh, aren't from around here. We are explorers, new to this town, if you can call this place that…"

"Yeah, I'm the one she answers to. Now, Elizabeth, get over here now!"

"We're taking her with us! Don't try to stop us," is all John can muster. The man looks like he's about to argue, but Ronon puts his arm around the man and gives him a hard 'pat' on the back.

They begin the trek out of the village, food no longer on their minds. They are just happy to have Elizabeth back.

Suddenly she stops and they all turn to look at her. "The DHD is broken."

"We brought a puddle jumper," John replies, and he gently takes her arm and leads her to it.

They all get inside, and he can't help but glance at her every now and again. Okay, he practically gawks at her the whole ride, but she doesn't seem to notice.

He doesn't know what happened to her, or how she got away. He doesn't know how she is or what she's feeling at the moment, and he doesn't know how to even begin to ask.

But when she turns to look at him and gives him a small smile, he knows that at the moment he's just happy she's back with him.

Fin

A/N: Okay so that wasn't great, and they are probably all out of character, but I post this hoping that it will help someone who is upset about Elizabeth's departure. It was more therapeutic to write than anything, so sorry for not being stellar. Have a good day!


End file.
